Keeping water flow in Blue Spring could force utilities to find other sources of water

West Volusia County faces a dilemma that could lead to higher costs for residents in coming years: There may not be enough water for both people and manatees.

Maintaining the flow of Blue Spring to support the thriving manatee population could force the utilities serving DeLand, Deltona, DeBary and Orange City to stop using most of their underground wells in the area surrounding the spring, leading to higher water rates and stricter rules about using water.

Because those utilities have been entirely dependent on underground water, tapping into alternative water supplies could cost more than $50 million, according to one study.

"We're being commanded to get out of the aquifer, and it's a serious problem," said Volusia County Council member Pat Northey, referring to the underground water supply.

The impact on utility customers is not yet known, though a new strategy team organized by the St. Johns River Water Management District is looking for answers.

Water-supply problems aren't unique to Volusia — they're expected to emerge throughout Central Florida as demand saps too much water from lakes and other bodies of water. But the Blue Spring issue may be one of the more costly ones in balancing environmental concerns with the public's need for water.

Blue Spring, in Orange City, ranks among the state's stronger springs, with an average flow of nearly 1,200 gallons per second. The spring also provides one of the few natural winter refuges in Florida for endangered manatees. This past winter, more than 340 manatees visited the spring, and the population there has grown dramatically during the past few decades. It's one of the region's most popular places to view manatees.

Manatee survival during the winter depends on that constant flow of 72-degree water from the spring, but St. Johns officials say the flow will be reduced if too much water is pumped out of the surrounding area. This problem has become apparent at other springs and lakes in Florida.

Blue Spring's watershed — the area where rainfall and the underground water supply feed the spring — stretches to include most of west Volusia.

In 2006, water-district officials established a legal requirement for a minimum flow from Blue Spring to ensure enough water for manatees. But a shortfall is predicted by 2019 unless well pumping is cut back dramatically, particularly by the public utilities run by Volusia County, DeLand, Orange City and Deltona.

The region now uses more than 22 million gallons of water a day from the area surrounding the spring, and projections show that by 2025, the area will need more than 32 million gallons a day.

Yet some studies show that by 2025, only 13.7 million gallons a day can be safely pumped out without harming the spring. That limit would create a shortfall for the public utilities of more than 18 million gallons a day.

Jim Gross, assistant director for the district's water-supply management division, said finding other sources of water will be costly.

"It's reasonable to anticipate projects will have real costs associated with them, but we would try to soften the blow as it's felt in the local community," Gross said.

Exactly what projects may be required will be the focus of the new strategy team, involving participants from utilities, agriculture, environmental groups and the general public. The team will be asked to come up with a strategy by December 2012, but several studies have already been done to figure out solutions.

An engineering consultant for the west Volusia utilities estimated that it would possible to close the water gap through a combination of projects.

Stricter conservation measures, including enforcement of lawn-watering rules, could save some water. The utilities could also do a better job of reusing wastewater, including a plan that would direct treated wastewater to areas where it could recharge the aquifer. Recharge projects would allow continued pumping from groundwater wells. But the biggest potential new source would be the St. Johns River — an idea whose feasibility is being studied.

The utilities may still have to dig new groundwater wells to supply about 7 million gallons of water a day and find locations for those wells that won't affect the spring, according to the report.

"We are very concerned about making those targets," said DeLand city engineer Keith Riger.

The estimated price tag for all these fixes: $52 million.

And there's no word yet on how to pay for those projects, with local governments strapped for cash and the St. Johns district facing $30 million in budget cuts for the coming fiscal year.